The earlier youth learn financial literacy, the more likely they are to invest and save later in life. Recent U.S. research has found that “people who have had financial education participate more often in retirement programs, make larger contributions and have a much higher savings rate than others”.

JA’s new Investment Strategies program (ISP) teaches students how to save and invest for the future. The program includes both interactive classroom lessons and an online stock market simulation, Invest JA, where students manage their own simulated stock portfolio. The simulation is linked to live data from North American stock markets and is an exciting, risk-free way for students to apply the investing principles they learn in the program.

ISP is available to Canadian classrooms in one of two delivery methods:

ISP Connect — a trained volunteer from the local finance community facilitates the program in the classroom. The volunteer provides guidance to students as they participate in the Invest JA stock market simulation.

ISP Virtual — a classroom teacher facilitates the program and is supported via online videos of ISP volunteers. ISP Virtual also includes all the resources needed for the Invest JA stock market simulation.

By participating in ISP, students will learn how to make smart investment choices. They will:

Understand the pros and cons of different investments, such as RRSPs, exchange-traded funds and GICs

Follow a Canadian stock for the duration of the program

Create a mutual fund

Learn how to buy low and sell high

Act as a financial advisor to apply what they learn

Build a portfolio for the online stock market simulation

Learn about socially and ethically responsible investment

Learn how to identify investment scams

Test their knowledge by competing against other teams from across Canada

At the end of the ISP program, students will know how to research and select investments and manage an online stock portfolio. This prepares them to make savvy investment choices throughout their lives.